Harry Schwarz
Encyclopedia
Harry Heinz Schwarz was a South African lawyer, statesman and long-time political opposition
leader against apartheid, who eventually served as the South African ambassador to the United States during the country’s transition to representative democracy
.
Schwarz rose from the childhood poverty he experienced as a German
Jewish refugee to become a lawyer and a member of the Transvaal Provincial Council
, where from 1963 to 1974, he was Leader of the Opposition
. In the 1964 Rivonia Trial
he was a defence lawyer. Advocating a more aggressive political opposition to the National Party's racial policies in the 1960s and 1970s, as Leader of the United Party
in Transvaal
and leader of the liberal "Young Turks", he clashed with the United Party establishment. He championed the cause of non-violent resistance to apartheid and in 1974 signed the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith with Mangosuthu Buthelezi
for a non-racial democratic society in South Africa. He was in the opposition for over 40 years and was a founding member of the Democratic Party
. During and after South Africa's abandonment of apartheid, he was South African ambassador to the United States and was also the first South African ambassador to Barbados
.
Schwarz was a founder of the Torch Commando
, an ex-soldiers' movement to protest against the disenfranchisement of the coloured people in South Africa. For decades he was on the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and was one of the Jewish community's foremost leaders. He is regarded as one of the great South African orators and debaters of his time. In his political career spanning 43 years, in which he gained respect from across the political spectrum, he never lost an election. He was a World War II veteran, having served as a navigator in the South African Air Force
. In 1988 he received the Order for Meritorious Service
and received several Honorary Doctorates.
Schwarz was described by the University of Stellenbosch as "one of the conceptual and moral fathers of the new South Africa" in the sense that he had not only been one of apartheid's most prominent opponents, but his ideas and the initiatives he had taken had played a key role in the development of the concept of a negotiated democracy in South Africa, based on the principles of freedom and justice. Nelson Mandela
, a friend of his whom he visited while in prison, described him as a "champion of the poor".
, Germany. His family belong to the Glockengasse Synagogue
. He arrived in South Africa as a Jewish refugee from Germany in 1934 with his mother and younger brother Kurt. His father Fritz, a Social Democratic Party
activist, left for South Africa the night the Nazis came to power. They boarded the SS Giulio Cesare
in Genoa
, Italy which took them to South Africa. When they arrived in Cape Town
they stayed in one room in a house in Kloof Street. Schwarz described how he was "lucky" as eventually he was able to sleep in a bathroom in a rusty bath. He spoke no English at first and had strong memories of being taunted on the schoolyard for being different. Schwarz stated in an interview in 1991 that "I know what the word discrimination means, not because I've read it in a book, but because I've been the subject of it. And I know what it means to be hungry." The discrimination and financial difficulties of his family left a strong impression on Schwarz and helped shape his political philosophy with its emphasis on social justice and the rule of law.
He attended Tamboerskloof School and South African College Schools
in Cape Town and then Jeppe High School for Boys
in Johannesburg.
and seconded to the RAF. In 1984 he was made an Honorary Colonel of the 15th Squadron.
in Johannesburg with the help of a Government loan and grant, where he first befriended fellow students and future anti-apartheid political activists Nelson Mandela
and Joe Slovo
. He joined the United Party and assisted in the 1948 election. However, as a result of the National Party victory, he was determined to become more active and was elected Chairman of the United Party branch at the university. He argued that the National Party's victory in 1948 was reversible and anyone who opposed them should concentrate on defeating them. In an interview in 1991, Schwarz said on the National Party victory that “To me, they were the people who had supported Germany during the war. As a young man, it was very objectionable to me that the very people I had been fighting against were the people that the National Party had supported.” He was also president of the university's ex-servicemen's league and chair of the Law Students Council.
He was awarded a BA, with distinctions in both history and economical history, and later an LLB. In 1949 he was admitted as an attorney, and later as a barrister (Member of Middle Temple) in London, United Kingdom and, in 1953, became an advocate at the South African Bar.
and many other political opponents were arrested and brought to court in the famous Rivonia Trial
. Harry Schwarz was one of the defence barristers in the trial defending Accused No. 8 Jimmy Kantor
, who was a close friend of his. Kantor was Mandela's lawyer in the trial until he too was arrested and charged with the same crimes as Mandela. After being the subject of vicious taunting and many attempts to place him as a vital cog of MK by Percy Yutar
, finally Judge Quartus de Wet
discharged him, stating Accused No 8 has no case to answer. Kantor along with Rusty Bernstein were the only accused who were acquitted. Kantor noted in his autobiography, A Healthy Grave, that Schwarz refused payment. Schwarz was refused access to Mandela while he was imprisoned on Robben Island
, however he was granted access to visit him after 1988 when he was transferred to Victor Verster Prison
. After the trial he left the Bar and became a solicitor so that he could concentrate on fighting apartheid.
During the trial he presented the case for Kantor as follows, "My Lord, it is difficult to reply in a restrained fashion. My learned friend must not use words such as 'Communist' lightly, when he refers to Kantor. Kantor is not a Communist. My learned friend has used the tactics of McCarthyism in an endeavour to smear him. I think, with respect, my learned friend is allowing himself to run away with facts that are not there. His complaint in count one is not that they found files with evidence. Oh not, he says that 'we found files with nothing in them', not in Kantor's office, but in the office of Wolpe. Then my learned friend [held] that the practice had been ruined and liquidated Kantor's practice. My lord, it is not Kantor. It is not Kantor! Why I say it is so difficult to be restrained, is that my learned friend has thrown in everything that concerns every accused in this case, and says 'that is why I don't want Kantor to get bail.
City Council in 1951 for Booysens, which had been said to be an unwinnable seat against the National Party. The seat had once been occupied by Labour Party
politician Jimmy Green
, who was his wife's uncle, who was first elected in 1920 to the City Council. In 1958 in a by-election he was elected into the Transvaal
provincial council for the Hospital constituency. The constituency eventually changed to be renamed Hillbrow. In 1963 he became leader of the opposition in the Transvaal Provincial Council, a post he would hold until 1974. He continued to practice law in the Provincial Council and throughout his political career. However, he briefly withdrew from law between 1969 and 1974 to take up the post of Chief Executive of Merchant Bank.
in the Transvaal. Steyn had been a MP for almost 25 years and for 15 years had been a close adviser to De Villiers Graaff. After he lost the election he defected to the National Party. His victory was a visible sign of strength from the liberals within the party.
, Chief Executive Councillor of the black homeland of KwaZulu
. They agreed on a five-point plan for racial peace in South Africa that became known as the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith
. The declaration's purpose was to provide a blueprint for government of South Africa for racial peace in South Africa. It called for negotiations involving all peoples, in order to draw up constitutional proposals stressing opportunity for all with a Bill of Rights
to safeguard these rights. It suggested that the federal concept was the appropriate framework for such changes to take place. It also first affirmed that political change must take place though non-violent means. The concept of a non-discriminatory society had been outlined in the 'Act of Dedication' of 1973 that Schwarz had written, while Leader of the Opposition in the Transvaal
. Schwarz had called for the Transvaal and South Africa to adopt and subscribe to the act. While the United Party Transvaal caucus unanimously adopted the initiative, the National Party refused for it to come to debate. The principles of the act were adopted at the 1973 National United Party Congress.
The declaration was the first of such agreements by acknowledged black and white leaders in South Africa that affirmed to these principles. The commitment to the peaceful pursuit of political change was declared at a time when neither the National Party or African National Congress were not looking to peaceful solutions or dialogue. The declaration was heralded by the English speaking press as a breakthrough in race relations in South Africa. The declaration was endorsed by several chief ministers of the black homelands, including Cedric Phatudi
(Lebowa
), Lucas Mangope
(Bophuthatswana
) and Hudson Nisanwisi (Gazankulu
).The declaration also received praise from liberal figures such as Alan Paton
.
The declaration drew much media interest from both inside and outside South Africa. However, the declaration provoked an angry response from the UP's 'Old Guard', including the party's leader De Villiers Graaff and led to Schwarz and other liberals being expelled from the United Party
the following year.
In March 1974 Chief Phatudi, Harry Schwarz and M. I. Mitchell (United Party MP), had discussions at Sheshego. They issued a joint statement, endorsing the principles embodied in the Mahlabatini Declaration. It also stated that all South Africans must be united to meet any external threats, subversion, or terrorism, and that the best way of uniting the people to meet such threats was to give them a real state in society which they were asked to defend.
, the Progressive Party caucus had grown from one seat to five seats and their leader Colin Eglin and other star candidates had joined Helen Suzman. Schwarz was elected into Parliament for Yeoville, beating Marais Steyn who had defected to the National Party after he was ousted by Schwarz as Transvaal chairman of the United Party. On 11 February 1975 he along with three other MPs were expelled from the United Party for signing the Mahlabatini Declaration and not following the "party line". They formed the Reform Party
, of which Schwarz as elected leader. The party's charter mainly incorporated the Mahlabatini Declaration
's principles and called for universal franchise and for equality to be extended to all. The party had four MP's, a senator, ten members of the Transvaal Provincial Council, which made it the official opposition party in the Transvaal Provincial Council, 14 out of the 36 Johannesburg City Councillors and four Randburg City Councillors.
On 25 July 1975, the Reform Party merged with the Progressive Party
to form the Progressive Reform Party
. Schwarz became the party's spokesman on finance and Chairman of the Federal Executive, while Colin Eglin
, the former leader of the Progressives was elected leader of the newly-merged party. In 1977 the party was renamed the Progressive Federal Party
, when additional defectors from the United Party joined. This served to finally realign opposition politics in South Africa, as the PFP became the official opposition party in South Africa, following the 1977 General Election
.
, he was an iconic opposition figure. He forcefully denounced the government's racial policy and was known for his sharp attacks on the National Party. According to veteran progressive MP Helen Suzman
, Schwarz carried out his role so effectively as Shadow Finance Minister that National Party Finance Ministers lived in terror of him, particularly when the time came for delivering the annual budget speech. During the budget debate in 1979, Schwarz called for urgent steps to be taken to tackle unemployment. He stated that South Africa needed to create at least three jobs every minute of every 40-hour working week to deal with its unemployment problem. He stated that unemployment was a political time-bomb. He was a member and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and a member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. On several occasions, Schwarz received behind-the-scenes offers to take up a Cabinet position under a National Party government, which he refused every time.
While distinctly on the left of South African politics, he was perceived to be on the right-wing of the PFP mainly due to his favouring strong military defence and his insistence that political change must take place without the disruption of law and order, which earned him the nickname "Harry the Hawk Schwarz". He often found himself in dispute with some members of the original Progressive Party, particularly Helen Suzman
. Colleagues would often refer the clashes they had in the parliamentary caucus meetings as "the Helen and Harry show". Suzman wrote of her relations with Schwarz in her autobiography, In No Uncertain Terms: A South African Memoir: following the merger between the PP and Schwarz's Reform Party "I stayed in the party, but relations between Harry Schwarz and myself were very strained for some time thereafter. They improved only in 1986 when Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
resigned from Parliament and the Progressive Federal Party. Harry Schwarz and I were the two most outraged members of the caucus, and our other differences faded into insignificance as a result. We developed a mutual respect for one another. Schwarz was an extremely able MP with a good financial brain, and a hard worker who could devastate National Party members in Parliament, especially Ministers of Finance, who feared his vigorous attacks. Like me, he could be unpleasant both in and out of the House. The differences we had were not on racial policy, but on his hawkish support of the South African Defence Force
."
On 6 February 1991 he ended his career in parliament following his appointment as the South African ambassador to the United States. His farewell speech to parliament was entitled "Look after my people while I'm gone".
ranks to be appointed to a senior ambassadorial post in South African history as well as the first Jewish ambassador. He was also accredited as the first South African High Commissioner to Barbados
in 1993 when diplomatic relations opened. Schwarz had previously received behind-the-scenes offers to accept a Cabinet position, by President P.W. Botha and Prime Minister B.J. Voster, but refused every time due to his opposition to apartheid. He agreed to the appointment of ambassador because of the government's commitment to the fundamental reforms that he had fought for, as well as on the terms that the National Party would not try to take his seat in Yeoville.
In an interview with the New York Times Schwarz said that "He hasn't asked me to change my political convictions," speaking of President de Klerk. "He knows that I'm implacably opposed to apartheid. Otherwise, there's no logic in asking me to do this job." Nor, Mr. Schwarz added, was he bound for Washington to represent South Africa's five million whites."I've made it clear that I want to be ambassador for 37 million people." A comment in the Daily News, Durban, typified the reaction among South Africans: "The main thing is that Harry Schwarz has been through the mill of opposing apartheid. If he tells them in Washington that change is irreversible, they'd better believe it." The fact that Schwarz, a well known and respected anti-apartheid leader was willing to accept the post was widely acknowledged in South Africa as a further demonstration of President F. W de Klerk's determination to introduce a new democratic system.
While in office in Washington, D.C., he worked on marketing the process towards democracy in South Africa and on lifting sanctions. Schwarz, played a significant role in convincing many Americans
that the de Klerk government was committed to ending apartheid. In 1991, after international pressure on South Africa, Harry Schwarz signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
. After the 1994 General election, he stayed on as ambassador, following a request from Nelson Mandela to stay on in the government of national unity.
Schwarz resigned his post as ambassador and returned to South Africa in November 1994, following his three and-a-half-year tenure as South African ambassador to the United States. At an event sponsored by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies in his honour, Schwarz urged the Jewish community to make the best of the changes taking place in South Africa and to contribute actively to the success of the country.
freely." He was assured in private meetings by Israel
i Prime Minister's Shimon Peres
and Yitzhak Shamir
that Jews in South Africa would not become isolated and links with Israel would be maintained. Schwarz was at the time of his death the vice-president of the Jewish Board of Deputies.
(now the American Jewish University). That year he also received an Honorary Degree from the University of Stellenbosch. He has also been given the Society of Advocates Prize and Transvaal Law Society Prize. In 1984 he was made an Honorary Colonel of the 15th Squadron in the South African Air Force
, which he served in during the Second World War. In 1994 he was awarded the Moral Statesman of the Year award by the Anti-Defamation League
. In 2002 he was appointed Honorary Life Vice-President of the Gauteng Council of the Jewish Board of Deputies. In April 2005, he was named an honorary fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. Sir John Adamson High's School's hall was named, and still is, after Schwarz who was the first Chairperson of the School's Governing Body.
and continued to work until he died. His areas of legal practice were primarily corporate and commercial with special interests in banking, insurance, diplomacy and advocacy. In 2000 he left the Democratic Party
because of its alliance with the New National Party and in 2008 stated that the DP "should have sought an alliance with black political groups". He remained active in the Jewish community and was up to the time of his death, president of the South Africa-Israel Chamber of Commerce and vice-president of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. Schwarz delivered his final public speech at the South African Parliament in November 2009 at a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Progressive Party, in which he stated that "freedom is incomplete if it is exercised in poverty". Upon returning to South Africa, Schwarz and his wife set up a charity trust called the Schwarz Upliftment Trust. He lived in Johannesburg
with his wife Annette, who is an accomplished artist and ran all of his election campaigns. They were married for 57 years with three children and four grandchildren.
Democratic Alliance leader and Leader of the Opposition Helen Zille
led tributes to Schwarz. She said "Harry Schwarz will be remembered for his signal contribution to the development of our democracy. His piercing intellect, and long professional experience in banking, made him the most astute analyst in Parliament on economic and financial matters during his terms in office. He had strong leadership qualities and could inspire people to great achievements. He was an outstanding debater, both inside and outside Parliament. He could stand his ground against all-comers. His principled and steadfast resistance to racial nationalism was rooted in the key role he played in fighting Nazism during World War 2. He continued his resistance to racial nationalism through his long and distinguished career in South African opposition politics. He has engraved his place in South Africa's political history. We will always remember him".
South African President
Jacob Zuma
also paid tribute to Schwarz in the introduction of his State of the Nation address to Parliament
on 11 February 2010, the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from prison and the 35th anniversary of the founding of Schwarz's Reform Party.
In a statement the Jewish Board of Deputies said that Schwarz "One of the last of a generation of German Jewish refugees from Nazism who came to South Africa in the 1930s, he rendered sterling service to his adopted country, whether in the political, diplomatic, human rights, legal or Jewish communal fields." It stated that he was "amongst the most forthright and effective campaigners against apartheid" and also said how he "remained actively involved in Jewish communal work to the very end." Zev Krengel, Chairman of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, said that "He was a man of formidable intellect and absolute integrity and was throughout his life a brave, unyielding fighter for justice." Rabbi Mendel Rabinowitz, who conducted the funeral said "Those like Harry, who contribute to society in so many capacities for so many years never die. Their bodies are laid to rest but the memory of them continues to live on."
Others such as former Leader of the Opposition Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
, former Foreign Minister Pik Botha
and the African Christian Democratic Party paid tribute to Schwarz for his record as an anti-apartheid campaigner and for his contribution to democracy and human rights in South Africa.
Internal resistance to South African apartheid
Internal resistance to the apartheid system in South Africa came from several sectors of society and saw the creation of organisations dedicated variously to peaceful protests, passive resistance and armed insurrection. It came from both black activists like Steve Biko and Desmond Tutu as well as...
leader against apartheid, who eventually served as the South African ambassador to the United States during the country’s transition to representative democracy
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
.
Schwarz rose from the childhood poverty he experienced as a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Jewish refugee to become a lawyer and a member of the Transvaal Provincial Council
Transvaal Provincial Council
The Transvaal Provincial Council was the Transvaal's legislature. It was created by the South Africa Act 1909, from the formation of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910...
, where from 1963 to 1974, he was Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...
. In the 1964 Rivonia Trial
Rivonia Trial
The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in South Africa between 1963 and 1964, in which ten leaders of the African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the apartheid system.-Origins:...
he was a defence lawyer. Advocating a more aggressive political opposition to the National Party's racial policies in the 1960s and 1970s, as Leader of the United Party
United Party (South Africa)
The United Party was South Africa's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. It was formed by a merger of most of Prime Minister Barry Hertzog's National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts, plus the remnants of the Unionist Party...
in Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
and leader of the liberal "Young Turks", he clashed with the United Party establishment. He championed the cause of non-violent resistance to apartheid and in 1974 signed the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith with Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
for a non-racial democratic society in South Africa. He was in the opposition for over 40 years and was a founding member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (South Africa)
The Democratic Party was the name of the South African political party now called the Democratic Alliance . Although the Democratic Party name dates from 1989, the party existed under other labels throughout the Apartheid years, when it was the Parliamentary opposition to the ruling National...
. During and after South Africa's abandonment of apartheid, he was South African ambassador to the United States and was also the first South African ambassador to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
.
Schwarz was a founder of the Torch Commando
Torch Commando
The Torch Commando was born out of the work of the Springbok Legion, a South African organisation of World War II veterans, founded in 1941 during the second world war by progressive anti-fascist servicemen, and the War Veterans Action Committee established with the involvement of Springbok...
, an ex-soldiers' movement to protest against the disenfranchisement of the coloured people in South Africa. For decades he was on the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and was one of the Jewish community's foremost leaders. He is regarded as one of the great South African orators and debaters of his time. In his political career spanning 43 years, in which he gained respect from across the political spectrum, he never lost an election. He was a World War II veteran, having served as a navigator in the South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
. In 1988 he received the Order for Meritorious Service
Order for Meritorious Service
The Order for Meritorious Service was an award in South Africa which ran from 1986-2002 and was the country's highest honor. It was awarded to South Africans who have rendered exceptional public service. It was awarded to people by the order of the President...
and received several Honorary Doctorates.
Schwarz was described by the University of Stellenbosch as "one of the conceptual and moral fathers of the new South Africa" in the sense that he had not only been one of apartheid's most prominent opponents, but his ideas and the initiatives he had taken had played a key role in the development of the concept of a negotiated democracy in South Africa, based on the principles of freedom and justice. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, a friend of his whom he visited while in prison, described him as a "champion of the poor".
Refugee from Germany
Harry Schwarz, born Heinz Schwarz, was born to Fritz (1897–1969) and Alma Schwarz (1901–1999) in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany. His family belong to the Glockengasse Synagogue
Glockengasse synagogue
The Synagogue in Glockengasse was a synagogue in Cologne, that was built according to the plans of the architect of Cologne Dome Ernst Friedrich Zwirner . It was built in the area of the previous Monastery of St...
. He arrived in South Africa as a Jewish refugee from Germany in 1934 with his mother and younger brother Kurt. His father Fritz, a Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
activist, left for South Africa the night the Nazis came to power. They boarded the SS Giulio Cesare
SS Giulio Cesare
SS Giulio Cesare was initially a liner of the Navigazione Generale Italiana, which was later operated by the Italian Line. The ship was used to transport first class, second class, and tourist-class passengers.-Features:...
in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy which took them to South Africa. When they arrived in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
they stayed in one room in a house in Kloof Street. Schwarz described how he was "lucky" as eventually he was able to sleep in a bathroom in a rusty bath. He spoke no English at first and had strong memories of being taunted on the schoolyard for being different. Schwarz stated in an interview in 1991 that "I know what the word discrimination means, not because I've read it in a book, but because I've been the subject of it. And I know what it means to be hungry." The discrimination and financial difficulties of his family left a strong impression on Schwarz and helped shape his political philosophy with its emphasis on social justice and the rule of law.
He attended Tamboerskloof School and South African College Schools
South African College Schools
The South African College Schools, commonly referred to as SACS, is a primary and secondary education institution located in Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1829, it is the oldest school in South Africa and one of four schools expressly named by Cecil John Rhodes to offer an annual...
in Cape Town and then Jeppe High School for Boys
Jeppe High School for Boys
Jeppe High School for Boys is a public secondary school is located in Kensington, a suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, one of the 23 Milner Schools....
in Johannesburg.
Military service
In 1942, aged 17, he joined the South African Air Force during World War II in order to fight Nazism. He served as a navigator and fought in North Africa and Italy. It was in the air force that he adopted the name Harry, as his Colonel said Heinz would not stand him in good stead if he were captured by Germans. He was in 15 Squadron15 Squadron SAAF
15 Squadron SAAF is a squadron of the South African Air Force. It is currently a transport/utility helicopter squadron.The squadron was formed on 18 September 1939 as a Coastal Command squadron based at Cape Town...
and seconded to the RAF. In 1984 he was made an Honorary Colonel of the 15th Squadron.
Wits University
In 1946 he went to University of the WitwatersrandUniversity of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
in Johannesburg with the help of a Government loan and grant, where he first befriended fellow students and future anti-apartheid political activists Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
and Joe Slovo
Joe Slovo
For Joe Slovo Informal Settlement in Cape Town, see: Joe Slovo .Joe Slovo was a South African politician, long-time leader of the South African Communist Party , and leading member of the African National Congress.-Life:Slovo was born in Obeliai, Lithuania to a Jewish family who emigrated to South...
. He joined the United Party and assisted in the 1948 election. However, as a result of the National Party victory, he was determined to become more active and was elected Chairman of the United Party branch at the university. He argued that the National Party's victory in 1948 was reversible and anyone who opposed them should concentrate on defeating them. In an interview in 1991, Schwarz said on the National Party victory that “To me, they were the people who had supported Germany during the war. As a young man, it was very objectionable to me that the very people I had been fighting against were the people that the National Party had supported.” He was also president of the university's ex-servicemen's league and chair of the Law Students Council.
He was awarded a BA, with distinctions in both history and economical history, and later an LLB. In 1949 he was admitted as an attorney, and later as a barrister (Member of Middle Temple) in London, United Kingdom and, in 1953, became an advocate at the South African Bar.
Rivonia trial
In 1963 Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
and many other political opponents were arrested and brought to court in the famous Rivonia Trial
Rivonia Trial
The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in South Africa between 1963 and 1964, in which ten leaders of the African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the apartheid system.-Origins:...
. Harry Schwarz was one of the defence barristers in the trial defending Accused No. 8 Jimmy Kantor
James Kantor
James Kantor was a South African Lawyer. He was Nelson Mandela's lawyer in the Rivonia Trial until he too was arrested and was charged with the same crimes as Mandela. Harry Schwarz, a close friend and a well-known politician, stepped in to act as his defense in the trial...
, who was a close friend of his. Kantor was Mandela's lawyer in the trial until he too was arrested and charged with the same crimes as Mandela. After being the subject of vicious taunting and many attempts to place him as a vital cog of MK by Percy Yutar
Percy Yutar
Dr. Percy Yutar was South Africa’s first Jewish attorney-general. Yutar was one of eight children in a family of Lithuanian immigrants...
, finally Judge Quartus de Wet
Quartus de Wet
Dr. Quartus de Wet , South African judge-president of the high court of the Transvaal.Born in 1899 in Pretoria, he was the son of Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet, Chief Justice of South Africa and acting Governor-General and Ella Scheepers , who is reputed to have composed the popular Afrikaans song Sarie...
discharged him, stating Accused No 8 has no case to answer. Kantor along with Rusty Bernstein were the only accused who were acquitted. Kantor noted in his autobiography, A Healthy Grave, that Schwarz refused payment. Schwarz was refused access to Mandela while he was imprisoned on Robben Island
Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...
, however he was granted access to visit him after 1988 when he was transferred to Victor Verster Prison
Victor Verster Prison
Drakenstein Correctional Centre is a low-security prison between Paarl and Franschhoek, on the R301 road 5km from the R45 Huguenot Road, in the valley of the Dwars River in the Western Cape of South Africa...
. After the trial he left the Bar and became a solicitor so that he could concentrate on fighting apartheid.
During the trial he presented the case for Kantor as follows, "My Lord, it is difficult to reply in a restrained fashion. My learned friend must not use words such as 'Communist' lightly, when he refers to Kantor. Kantor is not a Communist. My learned friend has used the tactics of McCarthyism in an endeavour to smear him. I think, with respect, my learned friend is allowing himself to run away with facts that are not there. His complaint in count one is not that they found files with evidence. Oh not, he says that 'we found files with nothing in them', not in Kantor's office, but in the office of Wolpe. Then my learned friend [held] that the practice had been ruined and liquidated Kantor's practice. My lord, it is not Kantor. It is not Kantor! Why I say it is so difficult to be restrained, is that my learned friend has thrown in everything that concerns every accused in this case, and says 'that is why I don't want Kantor to get bail.
Rise to politics
Harry Schwarz's political career started with his election to the JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
City Council in 1951 for Booysens, which had been said to be an unwinnable seat against the National Party. The seat had once been occupied by Labour Party
Labour Party (South Africa)
The South African Labour Party, formed in March 1910 following discussions between trade unions and the Independent Labour Party of Transvaal, was a professedly democratic socialist party representing the interests of the white working class.-History:...
politician Jimmy Green
Jimmy Green
Jimmy Green was a South African Jewish trade unionist and a senior Labour Party politician. He was elected to the Johannesburg City Council in 1920 for Booysens and served as deputy Mayor of Johannesburg . In 1951 he stepped down as a City Councillor for Booysens and was succeeded by Harry Schwarz,...
, who was his wife's uncle, who was first elected in 1920 to the City Council. In 1958 in a by-election he was elected into the Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
provincial council for the Hospital constituency. The constituency eventually changed to be renamed Hillbrow. In 1963 he became leader of the opposition in the Transvaal Provincial Council, a post he would hold until 1974. He continued to practice law in the Provincial Council and throughout his political career. However, he briefly withdrew from law between 1969 and 1974 to take up the post of Chief Executive of Merchant Bank.
Tensions within United Party
Although Schwarz had not joined with the group of 11 more liberal United Party members who formed the Progressive Party in 1959, and whose sole national MP, Helen Suzman, had singlehandely opposed apartheid more vigrously than the entire United Party caucus between 1961 and 1974, by the early 1970s Schwarz had become known as the leader of the liberal "Young Turks" in the United Party who wanted to shift the UP in a much more progressive direction, despite the reluctance of the party's national leader De Villiers Graaff and many of his senior MPs. Schwarz achieved prominence as a race relations and economic reformist in the party. In 1971 he became deputy leader of the UP in the Transvaal, a post specially created for him. However, internal divisions in the Party between liberals and conservatives came to a head in August 1973 when Schwarz replaced Marais Steyn as the leader of the United PartyUnited Party
United Party is a term used various political parties:* United Party of Canada* United Party * United States United Party* United Party of National Development, Zambia* United Party * United Party * United Party...
in the Transvaal. Steyn had been a MP for almost 25 years and for 15 years had been a close adviser to De Villiers Graaff. After he lost the election he defected to the National Party. His victory was a visible sign of strength from the liberals within the party.
Mahlabatini Declaration
On 4 January 1974, Harry Schwarz met and had discussions with Gatsha (later Mangosuthu) [ButheleziMangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
, Chief Executive Councillor of the black homeland of KwaZulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
. They agreed on a five-point plan for racial peace in South Africa that became known as the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith
Mahlabatini Declaration
The Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith was a statement of core principles laid down by South African political leaders Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Harry Schwarz on 4 January 1974. It was signed in Mahlabatini, KwaZulu-Natal, hence its name...
. The declaration's purpose was to provide a blueprint for government of South Africa for racial peace in South Africa. It called for negotiations involving all peoples, in order to draw up constitutional proposals stressing opportunity for all with a Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
to safeguard these rights. It suggested that the federal concept was the appropriate framework for such changes to take place. It also first affirmed that political change must take place though non-violent means. The concept of a non-discriminatory society had been outlined in the 'Act of Dedication' of 1973 that Schwarz had written, while Leader of the Opposition in the Transvaal
Transvaal
The Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa. The land originally comprised most of the independent Boer South African Republic, which had existed since 1856, despite two previous attempts by the British of varying success to establish supremacy...
. Schwarz had called for the Transvaal and South Africa to adopt and subscribe to the act. While the United Party Transvaal caucus unanimously adopted the initiative, the National Party refused for it to come to debate. The principles of the act were adopted at the 1973 National United Party Congress.
The declaration was the first of such agreements by acknowledged black and white leaders in South Africa that affirmed to these principles. The commitment to the peaceful pursuit of political change was declared at a time when neither the National Party or African National Congress were not looking to peaceful solutions or dialogue. The declaration was heralded by the English speaking press as a breakthrough in race relations in South Africa. The declaration was endorsed by several chief ministers of the black homelands, including Cedric Phatudi
Cedric Phatudi
Cedric Namedi Phatudi was the Chief Minister of Lebowa, one of the controversial South African bantustans.Born in Mphahlele, Phatudi initially worked as a teacher and educational administrator before attending the University of Fort Hare, gaining a BA in 1947 and a teaching diploma in 1950 at the...
(Lebowa
Lebowa
Lebowa was a bantustan located in the Transvaal in north eastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1972 and ruled for much of its existence by Cedric Phatudi, Lebowa...
), Lucas Mangope
Lucas Mangope
Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope is the former leader of the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana and current leader of the United Christian Democratic Party, a minor political party based in the North West province of South Africa....
(Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
) and Hudson Nisanwisi (Gazankulu
Gazankulu
Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was carved out of the former Transvaal Province and given self-rule in 1971, with its capital at Giyani. When Apartheid was abolished in 1994, the population...
).The declaration also received praise from liberal figures such as Alan Paton
Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton was a South African author and anti-apartheid activist.-Family:Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province , the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal in his hometown, followed...
.
The declaration drew much media interest from both inside and outside South Africa. However, the declaration provoked an angry response from the UP's 'Old Guard', including the party's leader De Villiers Graaff and led to Schwarz and other liberals being expelled from the United Party
United Party
United Party is a term used various political parties:* United Party of Canada* United Party * United States United Party* United Party of National Development, Zambia* United Party * United Party * United Party...
the following year.
In March 1974 Chief Phatudi, Harry Schwarz and M. I. Mitchell (United Party MP), had discussions at Sheshego. They issued a joint statement, endorsing the principles embodied in the Mahlabatini Declaration. It also stated that all South Africans must be united to meet any external threats, subversion, or terrorism, and that the best way of uniting the people to meet such threats was to give them a real state in society which they were asked to defend.
Realigning opposition
Harry Schwarz played a key role in the realignment of the opposition in South Africa. In the 1974 general electionSouth African general election, 1974
The 1974 South African general election, held on 24 April, was called one year earlier than scheduled by Prime Minister John Vorster on 4 February. The House of Assembly was increased from 166 to 171 members. The Progressive Party made a major advance. In addition to Helen Suzman, re-elected for...
, the Progressive Party caucus had grown from one seat to five seats and their leader Colin Eglin and other star candidates had joined Helen Suzman. Schwarz was elected into Parliament for Yeoville, beating Marais Steyn who had defected to the National Party after he was ousted by Schwarz as Transvaal chairman of the United Party. On 11 February 1975 he along with three other MPs were expelled from the United Party for signing the Mahlabatini Declaration and not following the "party line". They formed the Reform Party
Reform Party (South Africa)
The Reform Party was an anti-apartheid political party that existed for just five months in 1975 and is one of the predecessor parties to the Democratic Alliance...
, of which Schwarz as elected leader. The party's charter mainly incorporated the Mahlabatini Declaration
Mahlabatini Declaration
The Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith was a statement of core principles laid down by South African political leaders Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Harry Schwarz on 4 January 1974. It was signed in Mahlabatini, KwaZulu-Natal, hence its name...
's principles and called for universal franchise and for equality to be extended to all. The party had four MP's, a senator, ten members of the Transvaal Provincial Council, which made it the official opposition party in the Transvaal Provincial Council, 14 out of the 36 Johannesburg City Councillors and four Randburg City Councillors.
On 25 July 1975, the Reform Party merged with the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (South Africa)
The Progressive Party was a liberal party in South Africa that opposed the ruling National Party's policies of apartheid, and championed the Rule of Law. For years its only member of parliament was Helen Suzman...
to form the Progressive Reform Party
Progressive Reform Party
The Progressive Reform Party was a South African party that was formed on 26 July 1975 by the fusion of the Reform Party led by Harry Schwarz and Progressive Party led by Colin Eglin...
. Schwarz became the party's spokesman on finance and Chairman of the Federal Executive, while Colin Eglin
Colin Eglin
Colin Wells Eglin is a South African politician who is best known for having served as national leader of the opposition from 1977–79 and 1986-87...
, the former leader of the Progressives was elected leader of the newly-merged party. In 1977 the party was renamed the Progressive Federal Party
Progressive Federal Party
The Progressive Federal Party was a South African political party formed in 1977. It advocated power-sharing in South Africa through a federal constitution, in place of apartheid...
, when additional defectors from the United Party joined. This served to finally realign opposition politics in South Africa, as the PFP became the official opposition party in South Africa, following the 1977 General Election
South African general election, 1977
The 1977 South African general election was held on 30 November 1977. The National Party, led by John Vorster won a landslide victory in the House of Assembly. The newly formed Progressive Federal Party, led by Colin Eglin became the official opposition. The New Republic Party, successor to the...
.
Leader of the opposition
Schwarz, as one of his party's co-founders, finance spokesman (1975–91), defence spokesman (1975–84) and Chairman of the Federal Executive (1975–79), was one of its foremost leaders and a prominent leader of the opposition. He was regarded as one of the PFP's "star performer" in parliament. Along with others such as Colin EglinColin Eglin
Colin Wells Eglin is a South African politician who is best known for having served as national leader of the opposition from 1977–79 and 1986-87...
, he was an iconic opposition figure. He forcefully denounced the government's racial policy and was known for his sharp attacks on the National Party. According to veteran progressive MP Helen Suzman
Helen Suzman
Helen Suzman, DBE was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.-Biography:Helen Suzman, a life-long citizen of South Africa, was born as Helen Gavronsky in 1917 to Jewish immigrants....
, Schwarz carried out his role so effectively as Shadow Finance Minister that National Party Finance Ministers lived in terror of him, particularly when the time came for delivering the annual budget speech. During the budget debate in 1979, Schwarz called for urgent steps to be taken to tackle unemployment. He stated that South Africa needed to create at least three jobs every minute of every 40-hour working week to deal with its unemployment problem. He stated that unemployment was a political time-bomb. He was a member and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and a member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. On several occasions, Schwarz received behind-the-scenes offers to take up a Cabinet position under a National Party government, which he refused every time.
While distinctly on the left of South African politics, he was perceived to be on the right-wing of the PFP mainly due to his favouring strong military defence and his insistence that political change must take place without the disruption of law and order, which earned him the nickname "Harry the Hawk Schwarz". He often found himself in dispute with some members of the original Progressive Party, particularly Helen Suzman
Helen Suzman
Helen Suzman, DBE was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.-Biography:Helen Suzman, a life-long citizen of South Africa, was born as Helen Gavronsky in 1917 to Jewish immigrants....
. Colleagues would often refer the clashes they had in the parliamentary caucus meetings as "the Helen and Harry show". Suzman wrote of her relations with Schwarz in her autobiography, In No Uncertain Terms: A South African Memoir: following the merger between the PP and Schwarz's Reform Party "I stayed in the party, but relations between Harry Schwarz and myself were very strained for some time thereafter. They improved only in 1986 when Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert was a South African political analyst, businessman and politician. He is best known for having been the leader of the official opposition — the Progressive Federal Party — in the House of Assembly from 1979 to 1986.-Early life, education and academic career:Born in...
resigned from Parliament and the Progressive Federal Party. Harry Schwarz and I were the two most outraged members of the caucus, and our other differences faded into insignificance as a result. We developed a mutual respect for one another. Schwarz was an extremely able MP with a good financial brain, and a hard worker who could devastate National Party members in Parliament, especially Ministers of Finance, who feared his vigorous attacks. Like me, he could be unpleasant both in and out of the House. The differences we had were not on racial policy, but on his hawkish support of the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
."
Democratic Party
Schwarz was one of the founding members of the Democratic Party. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, as its Spokesman on Finance, formulated its social market policy. Given South Africa's complex character, Mr Schwarz supported a federal system similar to that of the United States, as well as a justiciable Bill of Rights to protect the rights of minorities as well as the majority. This was also longstanding policy of the former Progressive Party dating back to the report of their Molteno Commission of the early 1960s. His economic philosophy was summed up in a phrase he often used: "Freedom is incomplete if it is exercised in poverty".On 6 February 1991 he ended his career in parliament following his appointment as the South African ambassador to the United States. His farewell speech to parliament was entitled "Look after my people while I'm gone".
South African Ambassador to United States
Harry Schwarz was the first serving politician from the parliamentary oppositionOpposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
ranks to be appointed to a senior ambassadorial post in South African history as well as the first Jewish ambassador. He was also accredited as the first South African High Commissioner to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in 1993 when diplomatic relations opened. Schwarz had previously received behind-the-scenes offers to accept a Cabinet position, by President P.W. Botha and Prime Minister B.J. Voster, but refused every time due to his opposition to apartheid. He agreed to the appointment of ambassador because of the government's commitment to the fundamental reforms that he had fought for, as well as on the terms that the National Party would not try to take his seat in Yeoville.
While in office in Washington, D.C., he worked on marketing the process towards democracy in South Africa and on lifting sanctions. Schwarz, played a significant role in convincing many Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that the de Klerk government was committed to ending apartheid. In 1991, after international pressure on South Africa, Harry Schwarz signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
. After the 1994 General election, he stayed on as ambassador, following a request from Nelson Mandela to stay on in the government of national unity.
Schwarz resigned his post as ambassador and returned to South Africa in November 1994, following his three and-a-half-year tenure as South African ambassador to the United States. At an event sponsored by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies in his honour, Schwarz urged the Jewish community to make the best of the changes taking place in South Africa and to contribute actively to the success of the country.
Jewish Board of Deputies
Beginning in the mid-seventies, Schwarz played an increasingly important role on the Jewish Board of Deputies, serving as chairman of its committee on international relations and often acting as spokesman for the board to Jewish agencies abroad. He argued that violent change could ultimately lead to a nondemocratic government, incompatible with Jewish ethics and with the interests of the Jewish community. He emphasized that Jews needed not only a democratic society for all, but also "The right to follow [their] own religion and love for IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
freely." He was assured in private meetings by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Prime Minister's Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
and Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir
' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
that Jews in South Africa would not become isolated and links with Israel would be maintained. Schwarz was at the time of his death the vice-president of the Jewish Board of Deputies.
Awards and honors
Harry Schwarz was awarded Order for Meritorious Service (Gold) in 1988, which is awarded to citizens who have displayed exceptional meritorious and dedicated service to South Africa. In 1995 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate, from the University of JudaismUniversity of Judaism
The American Jewish University, formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish, non-denominational educational institution in Los Angeles, California....
(now the American Jewish University). That year he also received an Honorary Degree from the University of Stellenbosch. He has also been given the Society of Advocates Prize and Transvaal Law Society Prize. In 1984 he was made an Honorary Colonel of the 15th Squadron in the South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
, which he served in during the Second World War. In 1994 he was awarded the Moral Statesman of the Year award by the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
. In 2002 he was appointed Honorary Life Vice-President of the Gauteng Council of the Jewish Board of Deputies. In April 2005, he was named an honorary fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. Sir John Adamson High's School's hall was named, and still is, after Schwarz who was the first Chairperson of the School's Governing Body.
Later life
Harry Schwarz retired from politics upon returning from Washington, and returned to law to practice in Schwarz-North in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and continued to work until he died. His areas of legal practice were primarily corporate and commercial with special interests in banking, insurance, diplomacy and advocacy. In 2000 he left the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (South Africa)
The Democratic Party was the name of the South African political party now called the Democratic Alliance . Although the Democratic Party name dates from 1989, the party existed under other labels throughout the Apartheid years, when it was the Parliamentary opposition to the ruling National...
because of its alliance with the New National Party and in 2008 stated that the DP "should have sought an alliance with black political groups". He remained active in the Jewish community and was up to the time of his death, president of the South Africa-Israel Chamber of Commerce and vice-president of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. Schwarz delivered his final public speech at the South African Parliament in November 2009 at a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Progressive Party, in which he stated that "freedom is incomplete if it is exercised in poverty". Upon returning to South Africa, Schwarz and his wife set up a charity trust called the Schwarz Upliftment Trust. He lived in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
with his wife Annette, who is an accomplished artist and ran all of his election campaigns. They were married for 57 years with three children and four grandchildren.
Death and tributes
On the morning of 5 February 2010, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies announced that Schwarz had died, following a short illness, at the age of 85. He was laid to rest on Sunday 7 February in the section of honor in the West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg, which was attended by hundreds of guests and family members.Democratic Alliance leader and Leader of the Opposition Helen Zille
Helen Zille
Helen Zille is the Premier of the Western Cape, a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance political party, and a former Mayor of Cape Town.Zille is a former journalist and anti-apartheid activist, and famously exposed the truth...
led tributes to Schwarz. She said "Harry Schwarz will be remembered for his signal contribution to the development of our democracy. His piercing intellect, and long professional experience in banking, made him the most astute analyst in Parliament on economic and financial matters during his terms in office. He had strong leadership qualities and could inspire people to great achievements. He was an outstanding debater, both inside and outside Parliament. He could stand his ground against all-comers. His principled and steadfast resistance to racial nationalism was rooted in the key role he played in fighting Nazism during World War 2. He continued his resistance to racial nationalism through his long and distinguished career in South African opposition politics. He has engraved his place in South Africa's political history. We will always remember him".
South African President
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
also paid tribute to Schwarz in the introduction of his State of the Nation address to Parliament
Parliament of South Africa
The Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature and under the country's current Constitution is composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces....
on 11 February 2010, the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release from prison and the 35th anniversary of the founding of Schwarz's Reform Party.
In a statement the Jewish Board of Deputies said that Schwarz "One of the last of a generation of German Jewish refugees from Nazism who came to South Africa in the 1930s, he rendered sterling service to his adopted country, whether in the political, diplomatic, human rights, legal or Jewish communal fields." It stated that he was "amongst the most forthright and effective campaigners against apartheid" and also said how he "remained actively involved in Jewish communal work to the very end." Zev Krengel, Chairman of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, said that "He was a man of formidable intellect and absolute integrity and was throughout his life a brave, unyielding fighter for justice." Rabbi Mendel Rabinowitz, who conducted the funeral said "Those like Harry, who contribute to society in so many capacities for so many years never die. Their bodies are laid to rest but the memory of them continues to live on."
Others such as former Leader of the Opposition Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert was a South African political analyst, businessman and politician. He is best known for having been the leader of the official opposition — the Progressive Federal Party — in the House of Assembly from 1979 to 1986.-Early life, education and academic career:Born in...
, former Foreign Minister Pik Botha
Pik Botha
Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha is a former South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era...
and the African Christian Democratic Party paid tribute to Schwarz for his record as an anti-apartheid campaigner and for his contribution to democracy and human rights in South Africa.
Quotes
"Freedom is incomplete if it is exercised in poverty."
"It is important that in the process of change, existing institutions of value and means of production are not destroyed. The fabric of society, however critical one may be of its present structures, should be adopted and modified where required, but not destroyed."
"We are opposed to the homeland concept and we believe the way to solve our problems is to call a national convention of all races to change to a more multiracial basis."
"We are a country with a people who are removing the shackles of apartheid and will create a just economic system and a true democracy"
"I want to abolish discrimination, not merely cosmetically but in reality."
External links
- Goethe Institut Südafrika. Biographies. Harry Heinz Schwarz. Seeking Refuge Exhibition. 2005/2006
- South Africa Who's who
- Financial Mail 2008 – No rest for the dedicated
- Washington Diplomat Bio
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem—Honorary Doctorate
- Times Live obituary
- http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3638853 Cape Argus – South Africa loses human rights fighter
- http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=93095 Business day – ‘Individualistic’ Harry Schwarz served SA well
- http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/6c5e855ebe5d4c60bb433b997ce183a2/05-02-2010-07-04/Politician_Harry_Schwarz_dies News24 – Politician Harry Schwarz dies
- http://www.parliament.gov.za/content/25.03%20INSESSION%20Mar%20final.pdf South African Parliament obituary
- http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article305270.ece Obituary: Harry Schwarz: Hawkish opposition MP
- http://news.za.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=152037691 MSN News – Long-standing opposition MP dies
- http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/main/showNews/id/8954 World Jewish Congress obituary
- http://www.theherald.co.za/article.aspx?id=528084 The Herald – Apartheid opposition politician Schwarz dies
- http://www.citizen.co.za/index/article.aspx?pDesc=115726,1,22 The Citizen – R.I.P. Harry Schwarz